Man arrested by FBI for threatening to shoot Sen. Ted Cruz

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A Washington man was arrested by the FBI after making a series of threats to kill Senator Ted Cruz.
• Convicted felon Eric Kikkert said he will “blow” Cruz’s “brains out” in one message.
• Kikkert called Cruz on March 21, saying, “answer my questions by giving me a call or at the end of my rifle.”

A Washington state man was arrested and charged by the FBI after making a series of threats to kill Senator Ted Cruz. The man, identified as Eric Kikkert of Kent, threatened to shoot Cruz with “an assault rifle,” the Daily Beast reported.

Kikkert, a convicted felon, is accused of calling the senator’s office on March 21, and leaving a threatening message. He said: “answer my questions by giving me a call or at the end of my rifle,” according to court documents.

According to the US Capitol Police, an unidentified person showed them a text message from Kikkert on March 22. It said that Cruz should call him “or ill end up in his f***ing face with an assault rifle,” according to the criminal complaint.

Kikkert’s photo was attached to the text message and is included in the complaint. According to his mother, Kikkert “suffers from mental illness” and she has not seen him act violent, per the document. Kikkert is also a felon who is not permitted to own firearms.

Kikkert was also accused of leaving several voicemails to Cruz’s office making extreme threats, the complaint said.

“That’s a f***ing vaccine,” Kikkert said. “And if you don’t f***ing talk to me about it. If you don’t advocate for it, I’m gonna blow your brains out” adding, “I’m willing to put a gun in your face. You better f***ing think about it.”

The complaint noted that at one point during his threat he reached a live person at the office. He said he was “one step away from getting an assault rifle and pointing it at the Senator.”

Aside from the threats, Kikkert accused officials of telling an agent that he wanted to start a militia, and sending “nonsensical” emails to US Capitol Police, and making social media posts asking for weapons, including an AR-15.

Source: Yahoo! News